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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Opus 2011-318, A Good Word for Loners

Why does everyone tell me I need to share my feelings more?  I don’t want to share my feelings.  I get bored when you share yours.  It is not that I don’t care.  It is just that I don’t care.  I tend to be an introvert.  I had a pastor share once that an introvert gained energy from solitude and was drained by being with others.  An extrovert would be charged up by being in a group and bored by himself.  I doubt if it was original to him but it has a good point.

Alister Begg once commented on how everyone has times when they want to share something with their father, even after he had died.  I have not had that experience.  I had a lot of love and still have great respect for my father.  He raised four boys who all walked the straight path.  But he was my father, not by buddy.  When I worked with him on a daily basis we could go all day without saying much.  It was not our style.  I have never been someone who has to call and hear someone’s voice.  I am a loner, not a pack animal.

Perhaps bears and wolves would be a good comparison.  Bears are loners and do their own thing.  They raise their family but don’t run with others.  They don’t have a pecking order unless you want to call claiming a specific range as a pecking order. 

Wolves are pack animals.  They have a pecking order.  Maybe a growling order would be a better term.  They know who is top dog.  If they are like dogs they will sleep in a pile. 

There is another characteristic of pack animals.  In people it is sinister.  The leader of the pack tends to be a dictator.  The others are okay with that.  In humans I think that they tend to think that everyone thinks the way they do.  If they don’t they should.  As a result they are more into control and forcing conformity.  People who are loners tend to make more allowance for others having different opinions.  This idea could simply be me trying to make us loners superior, so feel free to do your own thinking and application.

Bears just want to be left alone.  They are capable of duty and responsibility.  They raise their young and are most dangerous when they are with their young (their time of being pack animals).  Then they move on.

Bears and wolves are animals.  They were not created in the image of God so we need to be careful when making comparisons.  But we can see parallels.  Both approaches are normal within reasonable bounds. 

Are you a soloist (a loner) or a member of the orchestra?  What is your style.  Don’t let others force you into their mold.  There is a place for both.

homo unius libri

6 comments:

  1. I'm a loner, have lived alone for almost 20 years and I enjoy my own company. Really don't know what the word lonely means.

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  2. People don't seem to understand what we mean when we say we enjoy the company when we are by ourselves. It doesn't mean we can't enjoy others on occasion or get along with people, it just means that we have so many things to think about we don't die for another opinion.

    I get you.

    Grace and peace.

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  3. I've spent a lot of time by myself over the years and have rarely been bored. Furthermore, the two times in my life when I'd have to admit to being the loneliest, were two times when I was in crowds of people.

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  4. When kids at school ask me if I get bored I just start listing off all the things I have waiting for me to do, the books waiting to be read, the songs waiting to be sung, the blogs waiting for posts. It makes me tired. Time for a nap.

    Grace and peace.

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  5. I live in my own little world. But that's Okay, they know me there.

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  6. Ralph,

    I also find that some of my best, two sided discussion come when I am by myself. Of course I have the benefit of reading the opinions of others in preparation for those discussions.

    Grace and peace.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.